NEW CONCORD, Ohio – West Liberty University's Reese Burnside stepped into the national spotlight here Thursday when the sophomore standout joined an elite club in winning the pole vault on the opening day of the Muskingum Invitational.

    Burnside became only the seventh NCAA Division II pole vaulter this spring – and the first in Mountain East Conference history – to clear five meters with a winning vault of 16 feet, 4.75 inches (5.00m).

    A meet and stadium record, Burnside's vault also broke his own school mark of 16 feet, 2.75 inches (4.95m). The ink had barely dried on that record, set just five days ago at West Liberty's weather-shortened Tim Weaver Invitational.

    The record-setting vault highlighted another strong performance by Coach Justin Simpson's men's and women's track squads. With only the men's decathlon and women's pentathlon remaining to be completed on Friday, the Hilltoppers have already clinched both team titles.

    The men have racked up 270 points, easily outdistancing second-place Muskingum (119) with Wilmington, Ohio (107.5) third in the six-team field. The women have scored 251 points, giving them an insurmountable lead over Muskingum (134) and Marietta (98). There are five teams in the women's field.

    While Burnside's vault was the only school record to fall on Thursday, the WLU men and women set a number of meet records.

    Sprinter Hunter Patterson was a double-winner on the men's side, setting meet records in the 100 (10.95) and 200 (22.26). Other winners for the Hilltopper men included Dillon Meintel (high jump), Gage Patterson (long jump), John Brown (shot put), Marshall Whipkey (javelin), Marshall Cheatham (400 hurdles), Mikhi Anderson (110 hurdles) and the 4x400 relay team

    There were two multiple winners on the women's team. Sierra Lanham set meet records in winning the 200 (26.42) and the long jump (5.24m) while Kennedy Martin prevailed in the discus and set a meet record in winning the javelin (33.90m).

    Also hitting the winners circle for the women were Hailey Carreon with a meet-record 15.57 in the 100 hurdles, Haley Norris in the shot put, Madison Cadle in the 100, Hannah Kemp in the 800 and the 4x100 relay team.